03/10/2014ASIA - PIME Eighty-five years of grace and joy by Piero Gheddo With, as his passion, the Christian message to proclaim as a missionary and journalist, Fr Gheddo is grateful to his parents and teachers. After 61 years as a priest, it is still great to be a priest. As he marks his birthday, he offers it as an invitation to young people. Milan (AsiaNews)
- At midday on 10 March 10, 1929, some 85 years ago, in Tronzano Vercelli where
rice is grown, Rosetta Franzi Gheddo, gave birth to her firstborn child as the
bells of the nearby parish church rang the Angelus. This child became a...
03/10/2014TURKEY Pan-Orthodox Assembly issues final communiqué by NAT da Polis Announcement sets dates and stages of 2016 Pan-Orthodox Synod. Participants express solidarity with the people of Syria and persecuted Christians, and make an appeal for the release of all hostages. They pray reconciliation in Ukraine. Faced with the world's economic and moral crisis, the Churches respond by bearing spiritual witness to the faith and defending human dignity, the relationship between men and women, and the environment.
03/10/2014SYRIA-LEBANON Ma'aloula nuns freed in exchange for 150 rebels held prisoner by Paul Dakiki The release took place around midnight, hours after the news first broke. The Lebanese and Qatari security chiefs Abbas Ibrahim and Ghanim al- Kubaisi were key mediators. The nuns were held on the second and third floor of a house controlled by the Al Nusra Front rebels for two months. Great publicity and media alerted ahead of release.
03/09/2014VATICAN Pope: Do not argue with Satan, defend yourself with the Word of God Pope Francis dedicates his Sunday Angelus to the Gospel of the first Sunday of Lent on Christ’s temptation in the desert, "Jesus does not dialogue with Satan, as Eve did in the Garden of Eden . Jesus knows that there is no dialogue with Satan, because he is too cunning. This is why Jesus, instead of entering into a dialogue like Eve, chooses to take refuge in God's Word and responds with the power of this Word. We should remember this when we are tempted".
03/08/2014TURKEY Fanar: Churches reach agreement on pan-Orthodox Holy Synod in 2016 Representatives of the various expressions of orthodoxy have agreed to meet in synod in two years. Meanwhile, a Preparatory Commission consisting of a bishop from each church will prepare the introductory documents.
03/07/2014SYRIA All contact lost with Ma'aloula nuns. Syria will sink further into war for another 10 years by Paul Dakiki The kidnappers belong to Al Nusra Front, linked to Al Qaeda. In addition to the release of political prisoners they are demanding food for the rebels and that the Syrian army clear out from all Christian sites. No news on fate of abducted Orthodox bishops, or Fr. Dell'Oglio. All humanitarian corridors blocked.
03/06/2014VATICAN Pope: Time of mercy, closeness to wounded for entire Church Encountering priests of the diocese of Rome, Francis says that “we must think of the Church today like a ‘field hospital'". "I always carry a small cloth pouch" containing a cross, in memory of a "great confessor", and when I have bad thoughts about someone my hand reaches for it". Confessors must be neither too "lax" nor too "rigorous".
03/05/2014EGYPT - ISLAM Samir Khalil Samir: Hamas ban also good for Palestinians by Samir Khalil Samir The Islamist movement accuses the Egyptian government of helping "the Israeli occupation". However, by choosing the path of violence, Hamas has created the current unsustainable situation in Gaza. Egypt shows that the diplomatic path is more fruitful. The court's decision is in line with the Arab Spring, against an ideological and religious dictatorship and for democracy.
03/05/2014VATICAN Pope: Lent, a time of conversion to be able to "react to the reality of evil that always challenges us " Francis points out two "commitments" for the period leading up to Easter: live the redemptive work of Christ with greater awareness and live our baptism with greater commitment. The "risk of not no longer being shocked by the sad reality that surrounds us", such as violence, injustice, "a society that claims it can make do without God".
03/04/2014EGYPT - PALESTINE Egyptian court bans Hamas activities in Egypt The court shuts down the movement's offices in the country. Hamas slams the Egyptian court's decision because it "harms the image of Egypt and its role towards the Palestinian cause". In recent months, Egyptian authorities destroyed most of the 1,200 tunnels with Gaza.
03/04/2014VATICAN Pope: Remember that among Christians "there are more martyrs today than in the early days of the Church" "The world does not tolerate the divinity of Christ. It doesn’t tolerate the announcement of the Gospel. It does not tolerate the Beatitudes". "They are condemned because they have a Bible. They can not make the sign of the Cross", "they can not go to Mass, because it is forbidden". How often "does a priest come in secret, among them, they pretend they are having a meal, taking tea and there they celebrate Mass", "so they will not see them".
03/04/2014IRAQ Chaldean Patriarch calls for a stop to the exodus to preserve the origin and history of Iraq's Christians by Joseph Mahmoud For Mar Sako, "Our future is here, not in the countries of the Diaspora". He slams mafias and traffickers who "encourage emigration", bemoaning the fact that without the people, only empty churches and dead stones are left. Better education, jobs, housing and investment are the bases to revive the Christian presence.
